>Thomas
>
>IMHO: software written today is mostly to create "a better telephonist's switchboard" just when the transistor has finally been invented. We all know that the keyboard and/or screen is a daft way to work. For an example of a good human interface, consider how often you've seen somebody curled comfortably on a sofa using the telephone. Now *there* is a smart user interface that has truly become part of our daily lives.
>
>IMHO the computer of the future will be the size of a phone. It will have excellent speech-to-text. It will have basic comprehension (something some of us have been working on for a decade ;-) ) so it can receive simple commands and even converse to ensure accuracy. Screens will be separate wireless devices the size of the NY times, with the same ability to fold so they are just as portable and maybe as disposable as well. Might need a screen? Carry it under your arm, just like the local newspaper. Either that, or pay-as-you-go screens will become part of our urban landscapes, with devices interfacing to the nearest display so users can peruse data not suited for verbal presentation.
>
>Am I wrong? Who knows. What I am sure about is that "the PC" as it currently exists, is an anomaly. Our kids will look back in disbelief that we had all this technology but still pecked away at keyboards using "mobile" devices with fragile magnetic 5400rpm moving parts, large glass panels, and components that ran hot enough to need a fan. It really is silly, when you think about it.
>
>So: all the software written today with a user interface is a stopgap, a temporary fix. Whether it is written in dotNET, VFP or Fortran, many of the "cool" features will be as nothing once user verification and speech technology becomes prevalent. The main purpose of much of today's software is to provide income for people like us and for companies like MS. The whole "open source" movement might be regarded as proof that the punters are starting to figure that out.
>
>OK, so now I know what it is like to pretend to be an Oracle! But wait, there's more: "The PC is a scuttled ship that cannot be saved! Run, run you po-dunkers, only the language of the Gods can save you! Make the switch today!"

John;

Your thoughts could become true. Memories of the S-100 Bus computers like my old IMASI 8080 (Z80) of 1975 and a 40 column screen. In 1961 I build a mainframe computer for my company. What a monster! So many 2N404 transistors! This replaced a computer that filled a 20 by 40 foot room and used 100,000 12AT7 vacuum tubes. The transistor version was the size of a small clothes locker like we had in the Air Force.

I have seen the industry change over the last 40 years and it changes quickly. Wake up tomorrow and an entirely new technology could be presented to us.

Tom